The Rant That Clears Your Head
Okay. How are you doing this week? Actually tell me, if you can. Not the Sunday-School answer, the real one.
I ask because this lesson is about the stuff that doesn't fit in a gratitude list. The stuff that's just... bad. Annoying. Petty, even. Good, we're covering it.
Here's the thing people get wrong about journaling. They think it's supposed to be deep, or grateful, or wise. Like every page has to earn its keep. And so when what's actually in your head is "I am so sick of this one person at work," they think that doesn't count, and they don't write it down, and then they drive to their job with that thought rattling around all day with nowhere to go.
I'm here to tell you it counts. Complaining onto paper counts. That's opinion number one for today and I'll die on this hill: sometimes journaling isn't deep, isn't grateful, isn't anything but getting the bad thoughts out of your skull so you can function. That's a win. Full stop.
Why the rant works
When something's bugging you and you don't deal with it, it doesn't go away. It just keeps circling. You think about the rude customer at the grocery store four different times before lunch. You rehearse the thing you should've said to your neighbor about the dog. It's exhausting and it doesn't fix anything.
Writing it down gets it out of the loop. Doesn't solve it. Doesn't even always calm you down right away, if I'm honest. But it moves the thought from spinning in your head to sitting still on a page, and a thought sitting still is a lot easier to walk away from.
How to actually do it
This one's simple. Almost embarrassingly simple.
- Grab your notebook. Cheap one, the one that doesn't judge you.
- Write down what's bugging you. Don't soften it, don't explain it to some imaginary reader, don't make it sound reasonable. Just get it out the way you'd say it to your most trusted friend, the one who'd never repeat it.
- Keep going until you run out. Might be four lines. Might be a full page. You'll know you're done when you notice you've started repeating yourself or you feel a little bit lighter.
- Stop. Don't try to fix it or find the lesson in it right there on the page. That can come later, or it can not come at all.
That's it. No format, no bullet points, no "three things I learned from this experience." Just the rant, in your own words, until it's out.
A word of caution
Two things worth saying plainly. First, if you're ranting about a real person, keep in mind your notebook isn't a locked safe unless you make it one. If you're worried about someone finding it, keep it somewhere private, or don't use full names. I use initials sometimes for that exact reason.
Second, if you notice the rant isn't clearing your head but making you angrier the longer you write, stop and put the notebook down. That happens sometimes with something raw. Give it a day and come back to it, or talk to an actual person instead. The page is a tool, not a substitute for a friend when things are heavy.
The trail story
I'll tell you about the time I ranted onto Patrick instead of paper, which is a mistake I don't recommend.
I dragged him up the Y trail twice last month. Both times, by the last switchback, his knees start doing this whole performance. Cracking, popping, him breathing louder than necessary. I made him wait at the top while I got my notebook out and wrote three lines about how his knees were "editorializing" on the whole hike.
I read it back to him. I thought it was hilarious. He did not find it as funny as I did.
But here's the thing — I'd been annoyed at him the whole way up for slowing us down, and I didn't say any of that out loud. I put it on paper instead, made it into a joke about his knees, and by the time we hiked back down I wasn't annoyed anymore. If I'd said all that out loud on the trail, it would've turned into an actual fight instead of a page I can laugh at now.
That's the rant doing its job. It gave the annoyance somewhere to go besides between the two of us.
Try it now
Think of something small that's bugging you this week. Doesn't have to be big. A coworker, a slow driver, your own kid not listening. Give yourself five minutes and write the rant. Don't clean it up. Nobody's grading the handwriting or the fairness of it.
If you want to share a line or two after, heck yes, I'd love to hear it. If not, that's fine too. Nobody has to read this but you.
Before next time: next time something's bugging you before it turns into a whole mood, try putting it on paper first and see if it changes anything by the time you're done venting. 😊